First Priority
by KateAncharn
Summary: All their lives, Justice has been the only thing that truly mattered. Now, though... Something else has come that they all can agree is far more important.
1. Chapter 1

This certainly could not go on. Lucci frowned faintly, arms crossed as he glanced to Jyabura. It made strategic sense, he supposed… They needed Kaku inside with them because of his reach combined with his strength and the other two of their most powerful were needed to protect the entrances so they would not be disturbed while taking care of the new equipment. He had even been the one to organize this arrangement, so he shouldn't have any complaints.

But that was before he had to bare through this smell… Every Zoan among them could detect this odor, and he, for one, was feeling somewhat antsy from it. Kaku was in a different, basically sealed off room, and Jyabura had used his jacket collar to at least dull it. He, though, had to set an example of being a leader and the strongest, and thus had forced himself to stand, nose uncovered and clear, and give no reaction.

Holding in exactly what this _alluring_ scent was doing was becoming increasingly difficult. If it where Kaku standing guard with him, this would have been simple to resolve. He couldn't pull the other out, now, though, making this excessively frustrating. Lucci let out a silent huff, standing up fully from his slight lean against the wall.

"I'm going to check to make sure there are no other openings to this area." The Wolf Zoan gave a faint snort, but didn't object, almost waving the other off.

"Be careful, ya' damn spotted fleabag," his comrade grunted, adjusting his jacket to block more of the smell. "And if ya' can find some way to get rid'a that smell, do it fast."

Lucci barely listened to the final comments, knowing their sentiments well enough. He was Rob Lucci; he wouldn't get caught by these low-ranking Marine foot soldiers. On silent feet, the carnivorous Zoan prowled along and let his mind whirl to dissect this scent that was driving him up a wall with aggressive energy.

It was a sweet smell, one he knew he had smelled, before. Kalifa smelled like this, sometimes. Not this strongly and as mindnumbingly, but the scent could be found on her and her clothing at least once a month. This smell was different, though, but only slightly when not including its strength. Something was boosting it, blasting this tantalizing odor all through this area of the base. Whatever it was, it was getting stronger, now.

The leopard Zoan paced the stretch of hallway where the smell was strongest, trying to pinpoint the right door without having to come up to and open them. All this smelling was making his slacks feel a little too uncomfortable, and Lucci knew he had to take care of this now. Self-assured in his choice of door, it took but a moment to shove it open with a low, almost inaudible growl.

In one breath, the smell filled his nostrils, and Lucci could not help but gasp and draw in more of it. It was so thickly clinging to the air in here that his head swam for what felt like just a few moments. That short amount of time was apparently enough or his body to make some decisions without his head, and his inner leopard had taken full control of it.

There was something warm and softly squirming beneath him, red fabric wrapped around it like a hood and a sling mixed together, keeping it in place and rather hard to identify. There was a spot on what Lucci assumed to be the neck were the fabric was torn, teeth marks showing who was the likely cause as he licked his lips and tasted the soft tang of someone else's blood. He licked at the bite, feeling the body below tensing faintly as this continued. He hadn't known his body was able to undress and get down to business so quickly…

Three times in a row, Lucci let the pressure build and release like tides crashing on the shore, ignoring everything else. The pale and quivering body underneath him had, after the first wave, resigned fully to him, relaxing and only giving the faintest pants from behind the velvet hood. Finally gaining enough of himself back to pause, the former government agent glanced around this room and took in more details.

It was warm and dimly lit, making the sweaty air feel all the more cloying and at home. There wasn't much in here at all; there were access panels to the vents, likely why the smell was broadcasted so far, and not even a Mushi to keep watch on the occupant. Furniture was minimal, as well, if a basic and rickety chair even counted. It seemed this room was just for one thing, and one thing alone. Good thing that was exactly what he was doing, then.

Humming an a way that sounded more like a purr, the leopard Zoan leaned back down, lightly running a finger over the bite he had left. The skin stretched over this captive was very pale, but the body seemed far too healthy for it to be from illness. His fingers, ever so lightly, moved over the only distinguishing feature they couldn't cover up; a tattoo that almost ran all the way about his upper thigh. He wasn't sure what it was of, but the fierce-looking creature had to have some meaning if they traditional style and precise details were to be believed.

After one more wave of heat, Lucci deemed the scent to have died down enough to leave the man be. As he redressed, he looked over the damage he had done before humming and leaving the room. He returned with water and a rag from a nearby supplies closet. It would do not good to leave any evidence that he had ever been here in this place. No one had called on their Den-Den Mushis while he had been busy, so no one knew they were here, yet. They were going to keep it that way.

The body would wiggle and the muffled voice grunt, but he was willing to be cleaned, if not begging for it. It must not happen often, then. Either way, the Zoan obliged, rubbing every patch of uncovered skin down after cleaning up what he had first intended to. He may be less likely to try and squeal on someone being in here with him at a time where there was supposed to be no one if he gave the other something like this for motivation.

Satisfied, Lucci left the room for the final time, closing the door neatly behind him. It was exactly as he had left it, so he had confidence that he was done with interacting with that man for as long as either of them lived. The halls smelled much less tempting, as well, a fact that pleased him to no end. Now, their mission could continue with not hindrances…

* * *

"What?"

Kalifa looked up from the report on the nearby base's activities, brow quirking as she adjusted her glasses. "That is their exact wording, according to Kaku. 'The specimen has been impregnated by an unknown donor. Fetus is developed to a stage where we are certain it is 5 weeks old. Paternity tests will not be performed until a more developed stage, and until such a time, the specimen is being released to ensure stress does not trigger any undesirable outcomes.'"

"And why is this relevant?" Lucci hummed, holding in the small sense of realization and dread that was brewing in the pit of his stomach.

"We were at this exact base at the approximate time where this child was conceived. Though it may be coincidence, this is still top Navy research on the effects of Devil Fruits on genetics and hereditary traits. These results will be very important to our future movements."

The leader of the former CP9 wasn't fully listening, anymore. Too many things were falling into place inside his head. He stroked Hattori, who was sitting contently on his shoulder, trying to make sure this idea that was forming was the most likely solution. The implications alone of this could change their whole strategy when approaching this problem, even team structure, and to force such changes for no reason could doom them. His comrades were discussing, now. He did not catch every word, but Lucci recognized the deep drone of Blueno, Jyabura's barking voice, and Kumadori's exaggerated shouts that drowned out Kaku's politer tones.

"Enough." Though he had not raised his voice very much, the room became quiet, once again, waiting for Lucci to continue. He felt their eyes on him, different emotions playing across each face. "We will find this specimen. As painlessly as possible, we will take them into our custody until the child is born. We will decide during that span of time what to do with them afterwards, but they will not stay in the World Government's hands."

He could feel the shock and the beginnings of argument and questions threat through the air, but he gave them no time. "The smell, if you remember it, Jayabura and Kaku, was that of the specimen's ovulation. They desired for something to impregnate it. As Zoans, we could smell it. The only way to be rid of the smell without waiting is to replace the unfertilized egg with one that will grow and change into exactly what they were hoping for. No one will touch my offspring and use it as they will. Understood?"


	2. Chapter 2

The textures had changed, almost drastically so. Holding his breath slightly, the man tried to check more of his surroundings. Everything felt heavy, weightier than lead. The feeling was not welcome in the least.

A small, uncomfortable groan slithered out of his throat, his body twitching faintly with his groggy effort to try and move. A soft, familiar little clink sounded from somewhere close by, and a firmer force kept his wrist from moving anywhere. Groaning a little louder, the pale form realized what the material he believed to be clamped around his wrist was when a familiar throb and feeling of almost total paralysis rippled over him. This had to be seastone.

How did he get here? Where was here?!If he could coax his eyes to cooperate and focus when he opened them, he may be able to find out. For now, though, it was just a blurry and dark mass of shapes that his mind was not yet awake enough to name. The cloudy irises were glazed slightly, and his form allowed them to be covered by his lids, leaving more of his head to think and try to figure at least something out.

He knew he had gotten off the ship without incident, at least. A pang of fear shot through his head when he remembered the feelings he had been experiencing as he walked off into port. It was almost paranoia; there always seemed to be eyes pinned on his back no matter how or where he turned and the space seemed so small and exposed, shrinking around him. It was as if he were an animal, being herded into a tighter and tighter space by something that he could not quite see, but simply knew that going close to it would end badly.

Crowded streets where he could hide in the middle of them, wormed in-between clusters of shoppers or couples out for a stroll were his sanctum. He had managed to break his way into one, holding in his nerves as best he could as he tried to disappear into it. There were others here who were just as tall, if not taller; he shouldn't have stuck out too badly. He had not been completely alone there, either, so hopefully that would have made him safe.

Maybe he had made himself feel too secure… He might have seen whatever this was coming if his mind had still been sharpened with paranoid thoughts to drive him. There had been a prick. Everything had started to go dark right after that, an unknown arm wrapped around his shoulders and keeping him upright enough to guide. He had passed out against that arm before a face had been seen.

He was being kidnapped. The confirmation in his own mind made him panic, and he tugged fruitlessly on the shackle, again. He could not stay here, not for even a second longer! What if it was them, again, and-!

Before his body truly had time to struggle, there was another little prick, right where he knew a vein to be on the inside of his elbow. His attempts at shouting and protesting were muffled with a rag stuffed inside his mouth and a hand covered his eyes. He could already feel the injection spreading and robbing his mind of alertness and a willingness to fight against these hands. A voice spoke curtly down to him as he fell back into the smothering darkness.

"Rest. You may not know what is going on, but you will be safer where we put you than know."

* * *

 _This was different in a welcoming way. There was the soft, but constant, beeping of a machine, and he had never been so thankful to hear a heart monitor. He felt the normal, starched cotton of a sickbay cot stretched over a lumpy, hard, but usable mattress as his nerves responded normally for what felt like the first time. There was no clinging sensation of velvet, no feeling of air or hands where he didn't want them, and the room was filled with voices who kept themselves at soft murmurs._

" _You're sure he'll be well enough to come back?" a familiar, female voice tittered. So she was here… He could hear other, more masculine and varied voices that were still known to him piping up similar comments, but more softly than usual._

" _Rest assured, given a couple days to finish recovering, he will be completely recovered, physically," a strange person replied. "You have my address, so send for me if he needs any other care."_

" _I believe we can take care of him just fine," Chikao's wizened voice grunted._

" _I must insist for his safety-"_

" _No._ I _must insist for his safety that you let us take care of this from now on. I'm his doctor. I've been assigned to this pain in the neck since he finished boot camp, and I know what he needs and how to get it to him." The man in question held in a grin, laying still and continuing to pretend he was still asleep. If he could help it, he wished for the conversation they would all have to wait until later._

"… _If you're sure you know what you're getting into," the only unknown voice replied, a forced politeness apparent. There was the rustling a papers being set down close to his side and many feet shuffling and stepping away. "I'll take my leave." There was brief silence as this outsider opened and closed the door._

" _Alright, men! Make sure our guest finds his way off the ship and get back to your stations! We have a lot of ground to cover if we're going to catch up to the Straw Hats!" the one female voice called, her tone crisp and seeming to bubble with renewed excitement._

" _Hai, Tashigi-chan~!"_

 _There was the usual stomping and cheering that came with commands from the young Captain as the sickbay was basically evacuated to leave him to rest. Even Chikao, in his good mood from chasing off the outsider who was trying to take command of his crew's care, left him to his own devices. As the quiet died down to nothing but silence, a pair of calm eyes slid open that had never been so glad to see the cracks in the ceiling he had counted dozens of times over._

 _The file caught his interest, though. He knew something had gone down, but…. The memories were blurry and trippy at best from his perspective. This was just for closure on what happened, he insisted to himself as he sat up, carefully, and plucked the file from the small side table. There was a harsh enough burning sensation engulfing his pelvis that he laid back down as soon as possible._

 _The first few pages were in-depth blood works, drug tests, physical reports that he could skim over for a basic description of what he had just been though. They were all useful information in their own rights, but not all of it was something he needed to know, right now. He felt a pit of disgust swirl in his stomach as he read some of it over what actually had been reported. Those bastards had…!_

 _His anger turned to shock when he turned to the next page in the file. Pictures… They were grainy black and white images, and he wasn't sure what they were of, but he knew what they were most similar to that he had seen, before. These were images given to couples, not people like him._

" _There's the head…" a somber, but still calm voice murmured from over his shoulder, a familiar aged finger coming in and tracing over the grainy image. "It leads to the beginnings of the spine here, and this little bulge right by the head is the heart. It's split into four chambers, now, and will start beating on its own soon. There are probably little buds coming out from the sides that will grow into arms and legs."_

" _How….H-how long?"_

" _Five to six weeks. It's only the size of a lentil, right now, but after the twelfth week, it will grow much faster," Chikao sighed, glancing away to check the IV making sure the largest problem he'd had in here was healthy. "I already have a prescription of prenatal ready for you. Unless, of course…"_

" _No! No, I…! It hasn't done anything, it's innocent! Why would I-! Don't… D-don't make me do that!" He didn't want to break down sobbing, but his body had other plans. He tried to hide it, smothering the sounds with the far too fluffy pillow. He couldn't even draw up enough of anything else to tell the doctor off as the file taken away._

" _I know, I know… I had to present both options. You know this isn't going to be easy, especially here," the elder sighed, putting on a bedside manner he usually had to reserve for newer recruits. "If you need time away from here to try and figure out what's best for… both of you… Keep me informed. I'll make sure you have everything you'll need. I'm already looking for a place that'll give me enough nicotine gum for this. The last thing you need is second-hand smoke."_

 _There was the sensation of blankets being tucked and fingers being pried off the pillow to be replaced by tissues until his cheeks were drier. Chikao made sure he was comfortable enough to sleep some of this off and calm down._

" _Do… they know?"_

" _No, not yet… No one's sure who did this, and no one here would think for a second to just leave this be," the Navel Medic huffed, patient as usual with him. "I'll do my best to keep this quiet as long as you need me to, but knowing them… They're still going to care, and that means doing anything to set things right. It can't stay just between us forever. Now get some rest while you still can. I'll see about getting some real food in here for you." He couldn't really argue with that…_

* * *

As the memory faded out, he realized he had woken up, and forced his eyes open against the blinding light.


	3. Chapter 3

"You're serious?!"

"Yes, Jyabura, I was standing right next to him while he checked and decided where to place him," Kaku sighed for what felt like the twentieth time. "He's carrying-!"

"But is it really Lucci's?! Isn't there some kind of test to figure that out?" the wolf Zoan snapped, arms spreading wide.

"Not at this stage," Blueno injected in his usual monotone.

"And not without some risk." Kalifa stepped daintily into the hallway, tugging off her gloves and tossing them into the can they kept handy for trash. "Any tests we could do, prenatal, have a risk. The risks, with a female, are rather small, but with someone like… him… The risks are greater than we know. I doubt Lucci would accept any risks, right now."

"Besides, Lucci was absolutely certain this was the same person he slept with, and it doesn't seem that, according to their records, anyone else came in, that day, except to do a routine cleaning of the room and maintenance of the… 'specimen,'" Kaku finished, rubbing the bridge of his nose, despite the maneuvering he had to do around his longer one. "The chances of this child _not_ being his are small enough for him, and for most of us."

"What if someone else broke in and banged the guy after or before we left?"

Blueno shook his head. "You're grasping at straws. The chances of their being two break-ins on the same base without at least one being detected by either the base or us is almost impossible. You just don't want him to stay, even after the rest of us have resigned ourselves to it."

"Even Kumadori?!" Jyabura groaned, even more distressed. Usually, he could at least get the wild-haired Kabuki enthusiast to side with him on points such as this. "He can't agree that keeping _him_ here. It's insane!"

"He's been off practicing sonnets about finding true love for the past hour, cha pa pa~" Fukuro called from the main 'living room' of their little base into the hallway where everyone seemed to have gathered, excluding Lucci and Kumadori. "He believes it's just what the baby and parents need to make a happy and loving bond!" Pushing aside the odd thought of Lucci being either of those in a traditional sense, the third strongest of former CP9 smacked his own forehead in both disgust and defeat.

"Do none of ya' get who this guy is!?" he yelped, hair bristling like his fur would were he a wolf at the moment. "He's _infamous_! They'll notice if he goes missing for a year, he's the Whi-!"

"We know," the giraffe Zoan interrupted, fists clenching at his sides. "We know who he is and what he's capable of doing. We also know what _they_ would use that unborn child for if we did nothing… For now, we do as Lucci wants. As the situation changes, so do our plans."

There was quiet for a few moments after the small outburst from Kaku, everyone fully digesting it in silence. With a heavy, begrudging sigh, Jyabura nodded, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the door leading to their topic of debate. "Fine. Just don't expect me to bend over backwards for this."

Lucci was, of course, pleased with that. He had been sitting inside the room with their newest predicament during the whole argument, listening silently. His fingertips tapped a soft rhythm on the taught skin stretched over the spot where this unborn child was. There was no bulge, not even a loss of muscle tone, yet. The fetus was too small to be seen outwardly, right now, but he could still smell it. It was a noticeable change in the 'mother's' own scent that said so, really, and told him of habits they would have to make sure were broken.

Either way, the leopard Zoan gave a proud smirk down to the pale body curled up on his own bed. They were still deciding upon setting up a small room close to this one for the male to call his own or just keeping him here, but for now, the only bed available to him was this one. Lucci let his feelings of possession flair, making sure the shackle would hold to keep the other from moving out of his chambers.

He knew this may make the other upset, but safety was safety. His fellow ex-CP9 needed to trust that he wouldn't do harm or wander off. Keeping him in one place like this was simply the best way to start that for them… He was, for now, Lucci's, and as long as control was kept, they would allow him to move into more main areas of the house when supervised. Smirking to himself, Lucci left Hattori to watch over their 'guest' while he stood and left the room.

* * *

"Kaku. You understand you will be in charge of him until we return," the leopard drawled, smoothing the collar of his jacket neatly before looking over to the long-nosed man. "I wouldn't trust you to do this if we did not believe it would end more smoothly with me there." The lean young man swallowed faintly, nodding and clenching his fists softly.

"I won't let you down."

"I know," Lucci purred calmly. "He will wake up, soon, and I trust you calming manner to at least keep him from harming himself when he does. Explain as much as you can without risking us and convince him to behave at least until we return. I can take care of any outbursts after that."

"Lucci, we're ready out here!" Jyabura called from the far end of the living room.

The strongest of the former CP9 let out a low growl and rolled his eyes, giving Kaku a small nod of dismissal before turning. He walked in his own graceful way to the rest of the group, stepping through the door Blueno was providing for them. There were some meddlesome pirates trying to come to this deserted island they had claimed as their base, and there were Marines following them. They could not be allowed to reach the shores.

The silence reigned for a few minutes, Kaku leaning against the wall across from Lucci's door as opposed to going in. He'd been in there, before, but… His nerves were on high alert with this outsider and stranger here.

' _Can he be trusted? Will he play along long enough for us to let our guards down just enough for him to attack? And the baby… Can he even be trusted to carry it?'_ his mind whispered, feeding the seeds of doubt in the pit of his stomach.

There was no choice; he had to go into the room and watch the other closely when he woke up. It should give him something to go off of, to try and figure the other out enough to decide if he could get him to trust them enough so they could trust him back. This in mind, the giraffe Zoan steeled himself and entered the room with little hesitance.

Lucci's room was as impeccable as always, not a thing out of the place the stronger man wanted it. The dark woods caught the light from the lone window they had carved there, themselves. The only things that could be considered blemishes on the classy and dark room were a tattered old top hat filled with cloth and hair and feathers by said window and a well-used perch made of driftwood and scraps by the bed. They were the creature comforts for Hattori, who was contently preening himself on said perch. When he noticed Kaku, however, the pigeon flew over to his precious nest, intent on protecting the little mementos of people he liked that it was made up of.

Giving the bird a weary smile, the giraffe Zoan settled himself on a small chair he had brought in with him. It was more of a stool, really, but it didn't matter. He could watch the pale form curled on top of the covers of the lone bed from his perch upon it. Now, the wait.

Kaku sat, still as a statue and just as silent, while he waited for the man to wake up. Scenarios of what could be said or done or anything played over and over in his head. He did his best to trim away the results that made no sense, whatsoever, but there were still ones he was far from comfortable with. He did his best to strategize a way out of them, which gave some comfort, but only some. There were still internal jitters in the former agent when so soft noises and faint movements reminded him that the person he was watching was starting to wake up.

First, Kaku had silently panicked. He wasn't prepared for this! He wasn't sure how to comfort the man, or if he would even need comfort. The sheer number of possibilities of what the first thing this man could do was making him a slight bit jittery. He was glad Jyabura wasn't here with him to remind him of exactly what could go wrong.

' _You're a former Cipher Pol agent, Kaku!_ ' he reminded himself, taking in a deep breath to calm down. ' _You will do this. This will end fine._ ' The internal pep-talk over, large gray eyes focused back on the task at hand. He had to talk to him, make sure he stayed calm and didn't hurt anyone or anything, including himself. Forcing a slightly warmer expression than he really felt, Kaku opened his mouth, seeing eyes slide open right before he spoke.

"Sorry to keep you in suspense, Vice Admiral."


	4. Chapter 4

This wasn't quite what he had been expecting… In truth, the long-nosed prick deserved a little of a whacking after saying something like that, so needlessly dramatic. Since his normal methods of smacking him through a wall were not options, he had to go with the next best thing: trying to beat him over the head with furniture. Unsurprisingly, this lead to a loud and long screaming match where the Marine was shouting as many obscenities and curses he could while this 'Kaku' tried to make any point at all over it. It took at least ten minutes before he finally calmed down enough to listen. He refused to put down the stool, though.

"For the last time, we didn't kidnap you!"

"What do you call this, then!" the albino snapped back, yanking the chain irritably as his temper fumed, again. "You bastards kidnapped me, and you expect me to believe you _didn't_ have something to do with the first time!?"

"We didn't do that! We didn't take you, that first time, and the only hand we played in that was-!" The younger man dropped off suddenly, biting his lip and looking to the side. "One… one of our own is the most likely candidate for being your child's other parent. If you haven't figured it out, we're not on the World Government's 'tolerated' list. We didn't have much of a choice."

"Fuck. You," the pale Marine growled, finally throwing down the stool with a loud clatter and crossing his arms as he turned away. He sat down on the bed with a huff, ears pealed. He heard the long-nosed brat give his own little huffs and grumbles, setting the stool back up before leaving the room. He returned, though, with a pair of glasses and a pitcher of water.

"Well, we can talk about this like adults and reach the truth or keep acting like a pair of children. Your choice," he hummed, setting the cups down on the nightstand. "I know you must be parched, by now, even if we had you on an IV to keep you from dehydration. If it makes you feel more secure, you're free to choose your own glass and pour your own drink." With a low, resigned glower, he took the pitcher when it was offered and poured both drinks. He chose a glass, still refusing to look at the other as he sat, cross-legged, on the bed.

"If you're going to give me water, can you at least get me my damn pills? I hadn't taken them, yet, before you and your 'friends' came for me," he muttered, simply waiting for the other to take a sip before he would take one of his own. True, his throat was dry, but he could wait. He had control, and a few more minutes wouldn't hurt him.

"Yes, of course… I'll bring in your bag, as well. We already checked it over, anyways," the young man hummed, nodding and standing. He took a sip of the drink before setting it down neatly and walking off, yet again. He was gone longer, this time, and the Marine couldn't bring himself to do more than sit and think, for now. There had to be answers… He was going to get to the bottom of all this, then. It wasn't like he had much of a choice in the matter, anyways, and this… this might give _it_ a little more protection.

"How did you get these?" the growingly familiar voice called out from the hallway as his lanky form made its way back inside the room. "I mean… You had to have gotten a prescription for these, and I… How?" He swiped the little bottle away with a grunt, popping it open carefully as to not spill the little capsules stored inside.

"My ship's doctor… It wasn't too hard for him to figure this part of the mess out. We talked, and he gave me these and a fake label to use, just in case. I was still _recovering_ , so no one suspected a thing when I started taking pills and being… moody. They blamed the other symptoms on the pills I was taking, too," the albino muttered, carefully shaking a single pill out. This 'Kaku' had taken a larger drink, by then, so he allowed himself a mouthful to swallow his pill.

"So… You plan to keep it, at last for now?"

"I'm taking prenatal and I didn't pack cigars. What the hell do you think?"

"Sorry… I just didn't think anyone would have predicted you, of all people, to choose that route… Nathanial. May I call you that?"

"Smoker," was the gruff, usual reply. "No one calls me that, anymore." The Marine let out a grunt and set his glass down. The quiet was tense, neither party looking at the other for a few minutes, each trying to choose the best way of interacting. It was inevitable, after all.

"A more proper introduction seems… fit. Kaku, second strongest of the former Cipher Pol 9. We were… _discharged_ from duty after a failed mission and the destruction of the Tower of Justice. We have gone rogue and are working to prevent our own capture," he replied. Smoker could see the soft twitching of his body when he spoke of their 'discharge', a sickened feeling swirling in the pit of his stomach that he knew wasn't from his physical condition.

"You should know enough about be, but I'll bite," he sighed, scratching his cheek lightly in thought. "Nathanial Orion Smoker, Vice Admiral in charge of the G5 base in the New World." They exchanged slightly bitter smiles. "You're younger than I would expect for a CP9, if I'm honest… Then again, that's part of the point of being the most secretive organization they had."

"Yes… Well, being the youngest of us, I have… gotten that a lot." Smoker knew he was being observed carefully by the other, while vice versa occurred, so he let his muscles untense slightly. So this was his game…

"You have my attention… Tell me everything about Enis Lobby that you remember if you want to keep it," the albino grunted , the ghost of a smirk playing over his face. He watched the twitch make its way through Kaku's body in but a second, the smirk widening slightly. "Don't pout, brat. Once you're done, I might tell you something a little more than most people know about Alabasta that I think would interest you…"

With a small huff, and a crossing of his arms, the former agent nodded. "Alright," he sighed, glancing to the clock to confirm something before he settled into a posture that echoed of having a tale to tell. It was reminiscing of Raule, and faint wisps of those old tales of adventure and valor flickered back. Later… There was a different teller of the tales, and the details could not be missed.

The beginning was, as expected, almost a mirror to the reports. There were tiny details and tints of opinion and foreshadowing thrown in, but nothing new to learn. It did, however, serve as something for Smoker to learn off of. There were small twitches and the younger seemed to fiddle with his cap every time he told something that felt like a lie. And the albino pressed for more details until the wall crumbled.

"I... I gave him the key, before I passed out…" the lanky rogue agent muttered, face tilted into the shadows of his cap. "I knew… I knew that I shouldn't have, as part of the Navy, but it felt like it was the right thing to do. Roronoa had won. He was going to get the key, either way, and- A-and Paulie send a message through him… We were all basically dead to them, and I-!"

"You felt guilt," Smoker interrupted, lacing his fingers together to rest his chin upon. "You felt guilt because these people you had to betray, they were like friends to you. It was like a dream you never wanted to end, and that cemented that it had." He watched the young man before him nod, mute for a moment as if trying to hold in the distress. "If you _hadn't_ of felt something, I'd say you're a heartless bastard. Both you and those people are victims of this 'Perfect Justice' shit they World Government has been selling to everyone for years."

He could see Kaku's shoulders twitching, his cap being tugged down a little further. "Th-the… The World Government is striving for peace… That weapon was a threat, and if it fell into the wrong hands-!"

"And who's to say their hands are the right ones!" the Stray Dog of the Navy exploded, again, a growl in the back of his throat. This subject was touchy enough, but he could almost feel his hormones fluctuate and fuel the flames. "Are you forgetting why you're on the run, brat? Because they _betrayed you_ and _your team_ right after making you betray the city of people who you had grown close to!" His hands moved, clasping on Kaku's thinner shoulders and shocking his head up. There were tears being dammed back in his eyes, a few being startled out at the sudden touch.

"Listen to me, and listen well. You don't want this shit they have been feeding you since you were born! That is not _Justice!_ Justice is something you have to find on your own, and don't let anyone tell you, otherwise! Now sit your ass down, because I've heard enough about their shirt. I'm going to set you straight…" There were a few moments of silence, the two just staring at each other or a few moments as a small sound of a stomach growling interrupted the moment.

"Kami… Do you want me to make you something?" Kaku sighed, scrubbing his cheeks with the small handkerchief from his breast pocket. "We have rice, if you want…"

Smoker huffed, looking to the side while trying to tame his embarrassment. "Can… you put a few things on it? I'm… C-cravings…" he muttered, cheeks flushing gently.

"What do you want?" was the resigned and slightly fearful response.

"Barbeque sauce, brown sugar, and butter…" the Marine muttered. He could see Kaku pale and cover his mouth from the corner of his eyes. "Don't look at me like that!"


End file.
